This is a strange film that reminded me of Bergman's Scenes from a Marriage, another Swedish film about a married couple in conflict who have communication problems and gender issues.
The Bergman film is of course much better. Force Majeure focuses on the reactions of men and women when they are afraid of death and traumatized. This couple seemed so immature. They got so caught up in their own reactions that they were not paying much attention to the children, who seemed even more traumatized. The wife's anger is understandable but she should not have humiliated her husband in front of the other people, which she did twice, even after he told he was embarrassed by that. Even after the husband breaks down, she was not able to connect with him and they both seemed very emotionally detached. The children seemed more connected to him than she was.
The film has a number of odd details, like the repeated appearance of a maintenance man in the hotel, who is always showing up for no apparent reason. And of course the ending is weird. Other reviewers have remarked about the fact that the wife gets off the bus without the rest of the family, but I also thought it was interesting that the bus driver drives off abandoning almost all the passengers. Was the bus driver's behavior and probable fears on the narrow winding roads supposed to be like the husband in the avalanche? I don't know.
I suspect that, like Bergman films, this is a Swedish perspective on existential crisis in relationships. The best thing about this film is that it will likely stimulate good conversation if a couple sees it together and is willing to confront these issues in their own relationship.
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